Elffire
by Amac4
Summary: This is basically a prequel to the first book of the Inheritance Cycle, "Eragon." It chronicles the story of Eragon I as he finds his dragon egg. I took a lot of artistic liberty with this story, so it contains little relevance to the original series.
1. Dragon's Fury

Eragon slipped into the house in Dras-Leona. He might be able to sneak past Arwen – she'd never know he'd been gone –

"There you are."

He started, and turned around to face the chair he had just walked past. There, seated even straighter than usual, was Arwen.

"Arwen Cloudlight." He bowed stiffly as an elf of a lower rank was expected to when meeting one of a higher rank, though he stopped just short of the protocol height. "I have just returned from - "

"Don't you dare twist the truth, Eragon. You forget, as always, that I have magic." She muttered a phrase quickly that he didn't catch, but he knew exactly what it was; he tried to find his inner magic, as the elders had taught him, but he had never been able to use magic like the others. And so he could do nothing but watch as an image of the Ancient Circle appeared in front of him.

"Eragon, why do you do this? You know no one except the elders are allowed to enter the ancient circle." She spared another glance for the floating phantasm of the circle of power-filled trees, and it vanished.

It all poured out of him in a rush. "I thought if I could go in the Circle, since it's so full of magic, that it would let me use magic, like you and all the other elves do."

"It's not worth the risk! All of your wandering off at night, _what_ Madoran Elflord would say if he knew…"

Eragon winced. Madoran Elflord was a great and noble leader, but he was incredibly strict with his edict that no one leave the city after dark. It was really for their own protection, but still Eragon felt the lack of freedom chafing him.

The reason for the Elflord's edict was quite simple – it was because of the dragons. Dragons and elves had lived in Alagaesia many years, but they did not always remain peaceful. Just the past week Elnath-Sor had been burned in a surprise raid by dragons. In retaliation a group of fighters had been sent to the dragons' nest to destroy all of their eggs, making the dragons even angrier. The problem was that the number of attacks was increasing rapidly, causing many to say that the dragons must be wiped out before the elves' race was eliminated completely. However, the Elflord continued to search for an answer to the problem, refusing to believe that the destruction of an entire species was the only solution.

"Arwen - " Eragon began.

"Enough. Go."

Relieved she hadn't punished him, Eragon moved past her and up to his bedroom, where he slipped into dreams almost immediately, tired out from his wanderings that night.

* * *

When Eragon woke up the next morning and went into the main room, he saw Arwen preparing to leave.

"There you are, Eragon. I have to leave immediately, Thanaline RosesThorn told me that the dragons have attacked and destroyed Prelith-Ga and Madoran Elflord and Kelanth Elflady have called a council." She sounded harried. "_Please_ don't go wandering off today, there are dragons about. I saw a fierce-looking green one fly overhead not 5 minutes ago."

Eragon froze. _Prelith-Ga!_ That was barely half a day's run from Dras-Leona – a short distance for an elf, and even shorter for a dragon in flight.

"Eragon? Your word?"

"Of course, Arwen. I won't go wandering off aimlessly."

"Good." She smiled once, briefly, then left, headed in the direction of Madoran's court hall.

Because elves speak in the ancient language, they cannot lie. However, they have instead learned how to perfect the art of speaking only half of the truth. So while Eragon had said he wouldn't "go wandering off aimlessly," he had no intention of staying near his and Arwen's home. Instead, he headed off almost immediately back to the ancient circle.


	2. Wondrous Discovery

The ancient circle of Dras-Leona was a perfectly shaped circle of tall, majestic pine trees that were said to hold almost half of all magical power in the entire realm of elves. Ordinarily only the elders, those masters of magical force, were allowed inside, to "prevent disturbances in the balance of power." However, Eragon often came here to meditate and sort out his thoughts, between the elders' rounds. He had an inexplicable feeling that today, the place would hold answers for him.

Eragon slipped between the two guarding trees. He knew that the elders always came into the circle at noon and midnight to perform their secret rituals, but in between they avoided the place. Today, just like so many other days, he walked into the circle – and froze.

Sitting in the very center of the grassy clearing was a smooth, glossy stone. He picked it up and turned it over in his hands. Perfectly round, it had a strange swirling design of white and gray, and every color in between. As Eragon turned it over in his hands, he suddenly realized what it was. This stone he was holding was none other than a real-live dragon egg.

He sat quickly on the grass, thinking hard. First, he had to decide whether or not to tell anyone about this amazing discovery. Sitting in thought, he suddenly decided – he could not tell anyone about what he had found. It was his, and he would have something special, something that no other elf had ever had before! He grinned in triumph, not noticing that he had already unconsciously decided that he was going to keep the egg, and hide and protect it – for if anyone else found it then it would certainly be destroyed.

A sound ripped through the forest, a sound that drove fear into Eragon's heart – a dragon's roar. Barely a second later, a phalanx of multi-colored dragons flew overhead in the direction of the main city at the center of Dras-Leona. _An invasion force!_ thought Eragon. He hesitated for the merest fraction of a second, then darted off, still carrying the egg. Running with the agility that only an elf has, Eragon headed away from Dras-Leona and deeper into the forest.


	3. Dragon Hatchling

When the sun sank beneath the horizon, Eragon stopped and sat down on a fallen tree, putting the egg next to him. He had no idea where in the forest he was or how far he had run. All he knew was that here, no elf or dragon would ever be able to find the two of them.

Eragon was able to find himself plenty of food; elves were vegetarians, and he was able to harvest a plentiful supply of berries and roots. So he whiled away the days, waiting, although he wasn't quite sure why. Over time, he built himself a small den in the branches of a tree, where he kept the egg. In this way he lived for nearly a month, waiting for some sign of what he was waiting for.

So it was that one day Eragon was walking back to his small abode carrying a small woven basket almost overflowing with freshly picked strawberries. He climbed up a series of wide, flat branches leading to his shelter high up in the tree. He set down the basket in one corner – then jumped at a sudden noise coming from the woven-reed blanket where he kept the egg.

Wondering if perhaps a squirrel had snuck in, he crept over to the blanket, then grabbed it and flung it aside in one fluid movement. The space was empty, except for the egg. At that moment it suddenly gave a great shudder. _The egg!_ It was hatching! He sat down and held the egg close. It shook a couple more times, then broke open with a loud _crack_. Sitting there in Eragon's hands was a perfect, miniature dragon. Its scales gleamed a bright, almost luminescent white in the half-gloom, and its belly was a stormy gray; it was the same colors that had decorated the egg it had just hatched from. It flared its wings wide and let out a great yawn. As it snuggled into his side, he tentatively reached out his hand and lightly brushed the top of its head with his palm. The moment his skin touched the dragon's scales, he gasped as enormous amounts of pain flashed over his palm. When the pain subsided, he lifted his hand to see a shining silver mark where the dragon's scales had touched him.

As he puzzled over this mark, Eragon realized that he felt a new awareness in his mind, as if his consciousness was suddenly expanding beyond his own head. He unexpectedly felt another mind touch his own. It made him flinch, but he didn't pull away from the mental contact. The other mind was curious – and hungry. As Eragon explored its mind, he realized that it had to be the dragon!

Eragon fed it some strawberries, then left it curled up in the blanket. He knew that the dragon needed meat to survive, and although he didn't eat meat he was a good hunter with his elvish reflexes. He was soon bringing back rabbits and even deer for his hungry and quickly growing dragon friend. As it grew, he could sense its quickly developing mind. After about a week, it started to use words to communicate with him, instead of just pictures and feelings. Eragon also sensed that the dragon was male. He decided to name it Bid'daum. When he suggested the name the dragon's mind sent waves of contentment back to him. He took that as a yes.

Eragon and Bid'daum lived in their tree shelter for another two weeks, until Bid'daum grew to big and heavy to fit in it anymore. They started flying to other parts of the forest, Eragon riding on Bid'daum's back, and at night sleeping under the dragon's enormous tent-like wing. When Eragon rode Bid'daum for long distances, however, the white scales of the dragon's neck chafed away the skin on the inside of his legs. So Bid'daum, who had by this time learned how to hunt, brought him several deer, which he then skinned. He used the hides to build a saddle like the ones used to ride horses, except that this one had straps for his legs so that Eragon wouldn't go flying out of the saddle when Bid'daum performed aerobatic maneuvers. The first time he tried to put in on Bid'daum, however, he encountered problems.

_Those rough hides rub against my scales! They're so uncomfortable,_ Bid'daum complained, shifting his weight from one foot to another.

"Well, try and get used to it, you big, fierce dragon!" Eragon patted him affectionately. "Tell you what, why don't I try putting a mat of woven reeds under it?"

_That would just make it worse. The reeds are itchy._ He sounded like he was trying to sound grumpy, but was failing spectacularly. _Use the nut oil you collected the other day on the hides. That might soften them up._

When Eragon rubbed the oil into the saddle it did indeed make the material softer and more easily molded to Bid'daum's wide shoulders.

* * *

As Eragon traveled, he began to see signs of elves and dragons at war. He saw nothing of either race, but occasionally he and Bid'daum would come upon a burnt section of forest that held signs of elvish dwellings, or an abandoned nest high on a cliff with a few broken egg shells. He began to wonder for the first time what had happened to his city of Dras-Leona, and to Arwen, Madoran Elflord, Kelanth Elflady, and all of the elves who had lived in the city with them.

_Do not be sad, little one,_ said Bid'daum gently in his mind. _We will find out what happened to our kin, and the rest of our two races, eventually._

After a moment, Eragon looked up at him. "Of course we will, Bid'daum. Because we're going back to Dras-Leona."

There was a pause. _I see I cannot dissuade you from this dangerous and foolish idea._

"No, you cannot."

_Very well, but we must be careful._

And so Eragon mounted Bid'daum, and together the two of them set off into the setting sun.


	4. Dangerous Path

Eragon was still unsure of exactly where he was in relationship to Dras-Leona, but he did know that it was on the westernmost edge of the forest. His plan, approved by Bid'daum, was to travel west until he found landmarks he recognized or they reached the end of the forest.

They flew on. Eragon realized that it had been three whole months since he had run out of the ancient circle that day with the egg of Bid'daum. He wondered what he would find in Dras-Leona. Then a horrible thought struck him – what if the dragons and elves had fought a terrible battle, a battle to the death? What if none of them had survived? What if he and Bid'daum were the last two members of their great races? What if –

_Peace, Eragon._ Bid'daum's presence in his mind comforted him. _There is no use dwelling on what might be. There is only what is; and we have no way of knowing what is until we get to the city. Do not trouble with thoughts of the future._

Bid'daum's wisdom surprised him. He asked his friend, "How do you know of such things, when you are even younger than I am? For in the reckoning of the Elves' race I am still the age of a child, not yet old enough to be considered wise. For doesn't wisdom come with experience?"

_I share the ancient memories of my race. These bits of wisdom float through my mind, and at times I am able to reach out, grab one, understand it._

They continued to fly, both pondering in silence.

After a time, Bid'daum grew tired, and the sun began to set. The two companions found a fairly flat and open region, and together they settled down for the night.

Eragon's sleep wasn't the true sleep of a human, but rather the dreamstate of an elf. As a result he could still keep watch even while resting, and could wake up in an instant if he caught a hint of anything amiss. So it was that in the dead of a moonless night Eragon sprang up at the sound of a rustling bush to find a score of urgals sneaking closer to Bid'daum, axes poised to strike, arrows notched on bowstrings.

Almost faster than the eye could see, Eragon lept up, jumped on Bid'daum's back, and let out a great yell – not just with his mouth, but also with his mind, alerting Bid'daum to the trouble and waking the dragon up.

_Urgals. Well, I can't say I'm pleased to meet them, _he growled. Then he swiped a massive claw at them, killing one and injuring two more, before jumping up into the air. However, when his glowing white wings snapped open to catch a billowing curl of wind, several bows twanged, and the dragon roared in agony, his wings pierced by half a dozen arrows. In his haste to leave, Eragon hadn't remembered to tie the straps around his legs, and as Bid'daum rolled in the air, he was flung out of the saddle and landed hard on his stomach in the dirt. Luckily they hadn't been very high in the air, so he wasn't severely hurt, but now he was in the middle of an incredibly hostile group of urgals intent on killing him. He rolled over to find an urgal staring him in the face, it's axe already coming down. Almost instinctively he used his mind to reach deep within himself, trying to find the magic that he knew wasn't there, searching in vain.

And then his mind fell into a river of shocking energy deep within his very core. Eragon jerked in surprise, then, submerging his mind completely within the current, he cried, "Break!"

They all heard a deafening _snap snap_, then the urgal fell, his neck broken and his axe cloven in two. Reeling, Eragon managed to stumble back a few steps as Bid'daum landed heavily in the clearing (crushing two more urgals under his hind claws) then bared his teeth and roared for so long that the others fled.

_Bid'daum._ Eragon spoke in his mind, sinking to his knees as the dragon turned towards him, looking concerned. He felt exhausted. _We should find a more sheltered spot to rest._

_I agree._ With a few nudges, Bid'daum helped Eragon up into the saddle, where Eragon tied the straps around his legs and slumped against his friend's neck. The dragon laboriously moved on, wincing when his injured wings brushed the trees.

They settled down in a sheltered hollow covered in trees. As soon as Eragon slid out of the saddle, he collapsed exhaustedly on the ground and fell asleep. Bid'daum covered him with a wing, and the two of them slept long into the morning.


	5. LongAwaited Arrival

The sun was shining brightly when Eragon woke up. He groaned and rolled over, rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands. His muscles felt better, but he was still very tired. _Did I really use magic last night?_ he wondered. _Maybe it was all a dream._ But when he looked into his soul for the magic, it was still there – depleted, yes, but there.

In his mind Eragon felt Bid'daum's consciousness stirring. Turning to face the dragon, he walked over and began to examine the arrow wounds in his friend's white wings. As he did, he noticed that Bid'daum still had the saddle on, so he gently unbuckled it and laid it on the ground.

Some of the wounds looked bad and were still bleeding, but most of them were superficial and would heal quickly without his help. "Bid'daum?"

The dragon opened one large eye.

"Could I borrow some of your strength to heal these?" He gestured at the wounds in Bid'daum's wings.

_Yes._

Eragon concentrated. He had heard that it was possible to borrow strength from other living things if your own energy was far too low. From Bid'daum's mighty strength he siphoned off as much extra energy as the dragon could spare, then reached into the remains of his own strength, placed his hands around the worst wound, and muttered, "heal." He watched, making sure that he didn't waste too much of his strength, as the skin knitted together and the lost blood was replaced. After completing this process with the other two large wounds, he relaxed on the ground, stretching his sore muscles.

_You don't need to heal the rest of the wounds, Eragon,_ Bid'daum told him. _I'll be fine as I am._

"Very well, but we won't be flying any long distance until your wings have fully recovered."

Bid'daum complained about this for a minute, until Eragon told him that if he didn't rest, Eragon would exhaust himself healing all of the wounds in the dragon's wings. Then Bid'daum agreed not to work to hard.

After another short nap, Eragon strapped the saddle back onto Bid'daum's back, and they both left, once again flying toward the setting sun.

* * *

Eragon didn't let Bid'daum fly for long with his injured wings, so they landed just after sunset. After a quiet night, Eragon felt rejuvenated enough to heal the rest of Bid'daum's wounds, though he still wouldn't let his friend fly more than a couple hours at a time.

The next day they came to the edge of the forest. Eragon recognized a mountain range he saw in the distant north, so they turned to that direction, skimming over the trees at the edge of the forest.

In another couple hours they reached Dras-Leona, but it was silent and uninhabited. As Bid'daum settled down in the Ancient Circle for a nap, Eragon walked through the city he had grown up in. The houses were empty, their residents long gone. Even Madoran Elflord's grand hall was abandoned.

Finally Eragon reached the home where he had lived with Arwen Cloudlight. It looked exactly as he had remembered it, except that it had a cold, unlived-in feeling to it. He shuddered, and quickly jogged back to Bid'daum.

"Let's go."

_I am sorry, little one._ He looked around at the circle of trees. _So this is where you found my egg? I sense great power here. No matter what reason caused my egg to come here, it wasn't an accident that this circle is where the egg was left._

Eragon didn't reply. Bid'daum flapped his wings and rose up, flying a circle around the abandoned elf city.

Suddenly Eragon stiffened. "Did you hear that?"

_I did._ The great dragon wheeled around and charged off, following the sound they had both heard – the sound of a dragon's roar.

After a few minutes, Eragon perceived a great clearing in front of them. On one side was gathered a host of elves; on the other, a huge conglomeration of multi-colored dragons. Madoran Elflord was on horseback in front of the elven host with his sword upraised. In front of the dragons towered the largest dragon Eragon had ever seen, a dragon as tall as the tallest tree in the forest – and most surprisingly of all, this dragon was all the colors of the rainbow, every scale a different shade of color.

_He is the chieftain,_ Bid'daum said quietly.

It was this rainbow dragon who was roaring out his challenge, a wall of sound that hurt the eardrums.

At that moment, Madoran Elflord urged his horse on, and it leapt forward with the speed on an eagle just as the rainbow dragon lowered his head and charged.

Without thinking, Eragon merged his mind with Bid'daum's, and the two of them cut through the air, aiming to land in the middle of the clearing. Using magic, Eragon muttered, "Loud voice!" so that every being in the clearing would be able to hear him. Then, just as Bid'daum flared his shining wings to slow down before they crashed, Eragon yelled and Bid'daum roared simultaneously: "Stop!"


	6. Ceremonies, Celebrations, New Beginnings

Madoran Elflord pulled up suddenly, his horse wheeling around and trotting back towards the elves. On Bid'daum's other side the rainbow dragon also halted, a strange look in his glittering eyes.

"Eragon!" Hearing his name, Eragon turned to face the elven-host. Running from the ranks and casting off her bow was none other than Arwen Cloudlight. He dismounted Bid'daum, and she embraced him. Next to him he could sense Bid'daum greeting a female dragon. She was green-scaled, but he could see that the shape of her head and scales was very similar to that of Bid'daum's.

Through Bid'daum's mind Eragon could hear the female's voice. _I am Kashwalla_, she said. _When we fled from the home near the elves' great-city, all was mad-chaos. It wasn't until we were a half-day's flight away that I realized my precious egg wasn't with us. I am glad to find that my son is well, although surprised to find him with an elf-enemy._ Bid'daum growled softly. _Yes, my son,_ she acknowledged him, _I see that this elf has become your friend. Perhaps the anger between our races can be soothed after all._

"Eragon, I was so worried about you!" Arwen interrupted his silent conversation. "I thought the dragons had killed you! Was this one keeping you hostage? He shall soon know more pain than you have." She lifted an elegant hand, but before she could say anything to invoke magic, Eragon stepped in front of her.

"Arwen, wait! Bid'daum's my friend. He helped me find you again."

Looking confused, she slowly lowered her hand. "Friends? With a dragon? But they are vicious, unintelligent beasts."

Bid'daum stretched his neck forward and projected his thoughts to the entire crowd of elves. _No less intelligent than an elf, Eragon-friend,_ he murmured in a deep voice that seemed to reverberate through Eragon's mind. He heard several gasps from the elves, and Arwen paled.

Then she surprised Eragon by bowing to Bid'daum and Kashwalla – not the formal bow she usually used, but the deep bow of a young elf to a wise elder. "Perhaps we may learn, our two races," she said, unconsciously echoing Kashwalla's thought.

_Perhaps,_ Bid'daum agreed.

At that moment Madoran Elflord approached. With him was the council of elders, the oldest and most powerful elves of Dras-Leona's Ancient Circle. The head elf of the council spoke. "We have decided that for the benefit of both our races, we will create a bond so that any dragon egg given to the elves will be cared for, and when the dragon hatches he or she will have an elf rider who will raise the baby dragon. There shall be a new order: that of the Dragon Riders of Alagaesia."

Eragon, Bid'daum, Madoran Elflord, and the rainbow dragon (who had by this time approached) all nodded their heads in approval. By midday, the spell was finished. The elders had used the energy in the Great Circle to help bind the spell for eternity. In the meantime, Eragon and Arwen had been telling stories, sharing what had happened to them since they separated.

After the dragons attacked Dras-Leona, the community of elves evacuated to an old, disused shelter area just to the north of the battlefield where Eragon had discovered them again. There they had stayed for the last six months that Eragon had been with Bid'daum, both elves and dragons preparing for the final battle. Both sides had been prepared to annihilate the other, when Bid'daum had flown in with Eragon on his back, surprising every being in the clearing.

Now there was a ceremony, and Eragon and Bid'daum were officially welcomed as the leaders of the new order of Dragon Riders. Then came something Eragon never expected.

"Eragon," Madoran Elflord intoned, "as you know, young elves are given their birth name by their parents, and they earn their honor name through the actions that let them grow to maturity. Through your actions this morning, you have proved that you have grown. You have earned a new name."

Eragon was speechless. Most elves took a great journey when they reached a middle age in order to earn their honor name. He must be one of the youngest elves to earn an honor name in the last half a millennium.

"I, the Elflord of Dras-Leona, hereby bestow upon Eragon, ward of Arwen Cloudlight, his honor name," Madoran continued. "Because he is the first to have the Dragon Rider's mark on his palm, he shall be known as Eragon Silverhand from this day forth."

The elves cheered, and Bid'daum purred his approval. Eragon bowed deeply to Madoran.

"Thank you for this great honor, Elflord. I will use this name with honor to the day of my death." The Elflord nodded to Eragon in return.

* * *

Eragon Silverhand and his faithful friend Bid'daum lived many hundreds and hundreds of years at the head of the Dragon Riders' order. They watched as the Dragon Riders ushered in a new age of peace by being the sword of justice in Alagaesia, and as Madoran Elflord and Kelanth Elflady passed away and their son became the new Elflord of Dras-Leona. They watched also as the races of dragons and elves changed for the better from the spell that bound them together, and as humans came and were added into the spell. And finally, they were old and tired, and retired from the Dragon Riders' order, and flew out in the forest one last time. They hid themselves away, and no elf or dragon ever saw them again. But there are some who say that before they died, Eragon Silverhand, now often called Argetlam, hid Bid'daum's eldunari1 somewhere deep in the elves' forest, where only his true heir would be able to retrieve it.

And many, many years later, when the dragon riders had been scattered and killed and an evil king reigned, one came. Not an elf, but a human, bearing the name of the First Dragon Rider, with Rider heritage and a powerful dragon partner of noble birth. But their story is a different one, one recounted elsewhere but as yet unfinished; and eventually we may come to know if Bid'daum's eldunari1 will be discovered by the heir.

1Spoiler Alert! Spoiler Alert! Spoiler for Christopher Paolini's _Brisingr_:

An _eldunari_ is a stone that is part of the dragon's anatomy. When a dragon dies (or even before) he may choose to put his consciousness and magical power in the eldunari so that he can live on after his body has died.


End file.
